Tough loss for the ‘Dores tonight who played valiantly in a tough road game. Though this game was within reach, this is hardly a “bad” loss. Missouri is a good team, and they just managed to get the last punch in. Congratulations to them on a battle well fought.

Vanderbilt at Missouri Live-Blog

Mr.SEC.com has a great recap on the state of play in the Vanderbilt coaching search. The search for a new head football coach run by Vice Chancellor Williams has been a model from which future searches will be run in college (if Williams ever decides to run a seminar, I’d recommend Tennessee’s Athletic Director Mike Hamilton attend. Biddle and Climer can chip in for the registration fee). According to the Mr. SEC report and Jeff Lockridge’s Tennessean piece in yesterday’s paper, the remaining candidates are: Tulsa Coach Todd Graham, Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, Maryland offensive coordinator James Franklin, Michigan State offensive coordinator Don Treadwell and Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Doeren. Of these 5 supposed candidates, only 1 is a head coach, 3 are offensive coordinators, and 1 is a defensive coordinator. Notably, 2 of the candidates come from the Big Ten, with 1 from the ACC, Big 12 (although soon to be member of the Big 10), and C-USA. The SEC does not have a representative according to the lists that are out there. According to Mr. SEC there are still people in Nashville who say Randy Shannon might not be completely off the list at this point, although FootballScoop.com says: “[Kentucky Head Coach] Joker Phillips is interested in hiring Randy Shannon to run the Kentucky defense.”

FootballScoop.com is reporting that Furman likely plans to hire either Robbie Caldwell or Bruce Fowler as head coach. VSLNation wishes both former Commodore coaches the best.

The Commodores face their toughest match-up of the year tonight when they take on the Missouri Tigers at the Zou (which is an awesome nickname for their arena, by the way). The game is at 9/8 CST and will be shown on ESPNU.

Festus Ezeli was named SEC Player of the week(http://www.secdigitalnetwork.com/NEWS/tabid/473/Article/217326/sec-mens-hoops-players-of-the-week.aspx). This marks the 3rd SEC POTW award for the Black and Gold (3 out of 4 overall). Pretty impressive if I do say so myself. It tells me that in any game a different player can step up and lead the Commies to victory.

P.S. I find tinsel distracting!

Not surprisingly perhaps, the Commodores have not gotten a whole lot of national media love. The ESPN analysts consider us to be a solid underdog team, as does Jeff Goodman at foxsports.com. We can’t really get a peep out of Gary Parrish at CBS, but he didn’t give us any love until we beat Tennessee on the road last year either. They’ll praise Cal and the Wildcats until the cows come home and the little guy as well, but we are not on the national radar yet.

It certainly wasn’t easy, but Vandy wins at Memorial. Turnovers were still an issue as the team committed 20. Credit must go to Belmont for their defense on Jenkins. I haven’t done the research, but this might be the first game John has ever failed to hit a three.

It’s not often that a coach is disappointed with a 20-point blowout of an opposing squad, but that’s exactly the way Kevin Stallings felt after Wednesday’s win over Western Kentucky. If that’s the case, Belmont should start feeling slightly nervous about the Commodores potential. But when the Commodores invite the Bruins to Memorial at 1:00 CST, they should be careful not to underestimate them.

Jeff Lockridge reports in today’s Tennessean that Vanderbilt has officially begun to interview candidates to become their next football coach. According to Lockridge, David Williams will meet with at least 10 candidates in his first round of interviews. The report mentions some of the “usual suspects,” including Auburn Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn and Virginia Tech Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster (both of whom coach today and will not be contacted until their regular season concludes), but also specifically refers to Air Force’s Head Coach Troy Calhoun. Calhoun’s name has previously been mentioned in connection with this opening in passing, but he has not received as much attention as he gets in this piece. Calhoun informed the University of Colorado early this week he was not interested in becoming their next coach, causing one to wonder if he’s got his eye on the opening in Nashville. Last year, Calhoun, when linked to the Tennessee job after Lane Kiffin’s abrupt departure, emphaticly and publicly stated he was not going to be the Volunteer next coach. So far, Vanderbilt’s search process has not be mired or undercut by such statements from potential candidates.

According to Lockridge: “While Williams expects there to be a second round of interviews, he added that someone could ‘jump out’ to him in the first round of talks that would produce an offer.” During the coaching seach, Vanderbilt assistant coaches Des Kitchings, Herb Hand and Rick Logo and assistant recruiting coordinator Norval McKenzie have been traveling all week visiting the 14 recruits who have committed to the Commodores. Of those 12 commits reached by the Tennessean, 11 described their committment to Vanderbilt as “firm” or “pretty firm.”

We know that Randy Shannon is on the short list and is the subject of an alumni email campaign supporting his candidacy. We know that when he was defensive coordinator at Miami, his squad was one of the best in the country. We know that he’s brought in top-15 recruiting classes the past few years running. We know his recruiting connections in the state of Florida run deep, which is partly why schools like Minnesota are interested in nabbing him. We know that he raised the academic (all teams in APR top 10) and disciplinary (no arrests during his tenure!) profile of a Miami Hurricanes program in which both were sorely lacking before he took over as head coach. And finally, we know that if his star QB hadn’t gotten injured and his team had won two games it should have won this season (UVA and South Florida), giving them a record of 9-3 instead of 7-5, that Shannon probably would not have been let go this past weekend after four seasons at the helm. (For what it’s worth, Bobby Bowden thinks Miami made a big mistake.)

Coach Shannon is about as good as you could ask for on paper, and I don’t have any inside information to this effect, but he sounds like a man of outstanding character to boot. His personal story, for those not familiar, is nothing short of inspiring.

I’m not as concerned as some might be about his overall record as a head coach (28-22, 16-16 ACC), nor do I care all that much about the decidedly strange tale of Robert Marve, in which Shannon was a key player. I’m not certain about this, but I think Shannon’s got the stuff that it takes to be a very good D-I head coach (though to the extent there are questions about that, there are similar questions about all the “unproven” offensive and defensive coordinators currently on the search list).

The main question I have about Shannon is unique to Vanderbilt’s situation. We’ve seen that he can take a program with discipline issues and an undistinguished academic track record and instill some positive values. But that hasn’t translated into success on the field, at least not the kind that they’re accustomed to at “The U.” Vanderbilt is a different animal. We’ve got the student-athlete thing down (to some extent, and let’s not be unrealistically arrogant about it) and we’re not constantly worried about which key player is going to get arrested from one week to the next (please join me in knocking on wood). In Commie Country it seems that fans are proud of the “clean and scholarly” reputation, but ready for something more. We’re ready for wins. At least enough wins to be competitive for a bowl game, any bowl game, year-in and year-out.

Is Randy Shannon a “winner”? I don’t know, but I certainly wouldn’t say he’s a “loser.” Looks like he may have gotten a raw deal at Miami and, as a consequence, it’s possible that he’ll be one of the best bargains on the market. Hard to know from the outside looking in. Also hard to know what kind of offensive staff he would bring in, seeing as he axed his previous OC who ran the spread attack in favor of an NFL-style offensive look. In any event, you’d be hard pressed to argue with the job he did recruiting at Miami (even though The U probably sells itself to a certain extent), and Vanderbilt could absolutely use (read: desperately needs) a guy who knows how to bring in strong recruits. For this reason and because everything I’ve read about his departure leads me to believe he is good at establishing relationships with his players (if not the bizarre Miami fan base), I am excited about the prospect of hiring a Randy Shannon.

This marks my newest tangent and at least the fifth time I’ve been stoked about a different coach in which DW is taking an interest. Other than me being fickle and nerdy, I’m taking that as a signal of the quality of coaches out there on the market. Vanderbilt needs to get this right, but as I see it they’ve got a lot to work with.

Jeff Lockridge’s story in today’s Tennessean adds another name to the list of potential candidates to fill the now vacant head coaching position (Randy Shannon). Perhaps more importantly though, it offers quotes from Virginia Tech’s Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster and Stanford’s Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman indicating both would be interested in coming to Nashville. Shannon doesn’t bowl me over, but I am very intrigued by both Foster and Roman as potential hires for the Commodores.

Apparently Joe Biddle doesn’t read his own sports section, as he writes a column in today’s Tennessean trashing Vanderbilt football and calling it a dead-end job. Biddle argues that Vanderbilt is “in the wrong league for football,” and comes back to the familiar sportswriter troupe that Vanderbilt’s real problem is not having an “athletics director’s experience and contacts” to get the job done. Not surprisingly, I couldn’t disagree with Biddle more. Despite the cosmetic “title,” Vanderbilt has an athletic department, it just so happens that athletics at Vanderbilt is integrated in, not set apart from, the rest of the student population (imagine that).

Despite the Commodores’ 2 disappointing football seasons in a row (which proceeded their first bowl win since the Eisenhower administration), it is impossible to argue that Vanderbilt sports is not as strong or stronger now than they’ve ever been. David Williams hasn’t had to do a major national coaching search, because he’s been able to keep his quality coaches in Nashville. Essentially, Biddle is criticizing Williams for being an effective administrator. When you think about it, Biddle’s take actually makes sense given his treatment (or lack thereof) of Tennessee’s Athletic Director Mike Hamilton. Here’s a guy who, despite his “athletic director’s experience and contacts” went through 3 football coaches in 3 years while being publicly rejected by almost every candidate they targeted to fill that vacancy. Make no mistake about it Tennessee fans, Derek Dooley was not Tennessee’ first, second, or third choice. Yet somehow, because of his title, Hamilton gets a pass, and Williams gets scorned. Unlike last year’s Volunteer coaching search, Vanderbilt’s efforts are being done in a professional, quiet and methodical manner. There haven’t been any leaks, and no embarrassing public rejections. Maybe more schools should get rid of their athletic directors.

For some reason, I let Biddle get under my skin. I don’t really know why. I guess what I continue to take exception to, both from Biddle and the other Tennessean columnist David Climer, is the glee they seem to take in criticizing Vanderbilt. The lengths (uninformed at they might be) these columnists will go to slam the Commodores is astonishing (especially as compared to their treatment of the Volunteers, who are always on the ascendancy according to these scribes). Nashville is Vanderbilt’s home, yet the home-town paper’s columnists appear to relish when the team struggles. Do us all a favor Joe, head east to Knoxville, I’ll even throw in 5 bucks for gas.

I really think the idea of Vanderbilt being some kind of place where successful coaches go to die is so over-blown and ridiculous. You get a good coach, who is willing to put in the work and surround himself with other coaching talent and Vandy CAN be successful. Period.
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101202/SPORTS0602/12020325/2082/SPORTS

Well played by the Commodores tonight. While WKU seriously misses A.J. Slaughter, you can’t doubt the performance of the ‘Dores in the paint. Big Fez absolutely dominated down low and we saw a lot of great play from the perimeter as well. Jenkins had his 5th 20 point game of the season

It’s fair to say that Western Kentucky has not brought their A-game, but Vanderbilt fans should be very encouraged by the team’s first half performance. Vandy shot 46.7 percent from the field and 50 percent from three. They are leading the rebounding battle and have doubled Western’s bench in points.

The Commodores welcome, but don’t really welcome, Western Kentucky to Memorial tonight. Without doubt this early season match-up should leave a bitter taste in the team’s collective mouth. Western Kentucky represented what I would consider to be the “rock bottom” game which seems to be indicative of Stallings most talented squads: the point at which the team realizes they need to get things together to avoid a lost season. Last year the Commodores ripped off ten straight after losing to WKU in the Sommet Center, including big wins over Florida at home, and Tennessee and South Carolina on the road. The only thing that could be better than that performance? Ripping off ten straight…while maintaining the current winning streak by beating Western Kentucky.

Who Should Vanderbilt Hire as their Next Head Football Coach?customer surveys

Explanation: This list includes the 5 names currently reported as active candidates for the vacancy. Phillip Fulmer and Al Golden (Temple) are apparently no longer candidates, and despite Anchor of Gold’s letter writing campaign, no media outlets have mentioned Mike Leach as a potential hire.

On Monday, Football Scoop reported that Vanderbilt plans to talk with Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster after Saturday’s ACC Championship Game. Hokie fans have heard this tune before, as Foster is perennially in the conversation as a prime candidate for a BCS conference head coaching position. Is there any reason to think the rumors will materialize into a contract this time around? Here are just a few of the reasons why VSL Nation should be psyched about the prospect of that happening.

First of all, Foster is a brilliant defensive mind and is universally regarded as a phenomenal coach. The proof is in the pudding. Here’s how his teams have ranked nationally in total defense the past several years:

2009 – #12 (#2 ACC)
2008 – #6 (#1 ACC)
2007 – #4 (#1 ACC)
2006 – #1 (#1 ACC)
2005 – #1 (#1 ACC)
2004 – #4 (#2 ACC)

Yes, it’s the ACC, but those numbers are eye-popping. Foster is a Broyles Award winner and has coached a team into the national championship game. His bona fides are not in question.

Foster also has the plus-factor of recruiting connections in Virginia and the surrounding states of Maryland and North Carolina. These are areas that send kids to the SEC but are by no means the primary recruiting battlegrounds for our conference opponents. That could translate into opportunities to entice some talented players who otherwise would be bound for ACC schools.

Of course, I recognize that this may be a stretch. There has been speculation that Foster has a “coach-in-waiting” deal at VaTech, making him the heir-apparent should Frank Beamer retire in the next five years or so. But based on what Bud himself has said, as much as he loves his situation in Blacksburg, being a head coach is something he’s always wanted. He already knows every detail of how he would do it, right down to his academic policy and the assistants who he would hire (safe money is on his offensive coordinator being a sicko). Apparently he just hasn’t been willing to self-promote to get there.

If Foster is going to become a head coach, now is probably about the time. His agent told the Washington Post in November 2007 that Bud was about a year or two away from being a head coach somewhere. He says he’s wanted to wait for the right opportunity, not just any opportunity.

Maybe Vanderbilt isn’t it. After all, we do have the unfortunate reputation of being a “coach killer” school. But as we have stated numerous times in this space, that label need not be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Moreover, when you look at a guy who has seriously considered non-BCS conference jobs like Southern Miss and Northern Illinois, it makes you wonder: Why not Vandy?

Would the academic standards disrupt his ability to recruit the kind of talent and speed (particularly on the defensive side) that have made Foster-coached teams successful? Maybe. But it sounds like Bud would embrace a commitment to strong academics and building success through great coaching more than relying on lights-out recruiting. As successful as the Hokies have been this decade, they’ve done it mostly with recruiting classes ranked in the 20s, 30s and 40s. Only one class in the past ten years has cracked the top 15 (according to Rivals), and none have been top 10. Compare that to the Hokies’ final AP rankings throughout the decade, and it appears that Foster is part of a staff that knows what it’s doing. And again, the possibility of stealing some 4-stars out of the coastal regions is one not to be dismissed.

I personally think the Vanderbilt job would be perfect for a guy like Bud Foster. It’s the SEC, the top flight of the coaching profession. He’s by all accounts a great guy who is young enough (51) and energetic in spades. Nash Vegas is an easy place to fall in love with and, like Blacksburg, it’s relatively close to his roots in Kentucky.

Word on the street has it that the administration is willing to shell out the cash this time around. At the moment, I can’t think of a better person to spend it on.

Footballscoop.com (which I had never heard of let alone read until the past week) is reporting that Phil Fulmer is “in the mix” and spoke “at length” with Vandy administrators yesterday.

Well it wouldn’t surprise me that they talked to him but I would be shocked….SHOCKED if he ended up anyway near becoming the next coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores. Too me it would smack of desperation and a betrayal of the principles and values that VU has stood for.

I just don’t see it happening or want it to happen frankly.

Stanford’s OC Greg Roman seems like a good guy. Is he the right coach for Vanderbilt? Well, let’s see what we know about him.

He’s had an awesome run at Stanford and as a result is currently a Broyles Award finalist. He could potentially bring insight into the formula for success at a “similarly situated” school. He’s never been a head coach though… He coached as an assistant in the NFL for 13 years prior to moving to Palo Alto. I trust Jim Harbaugh’s judgment — he calls him a “phenomenal teacher” with “fresh ideas” and raves the he is “aces.” Roman appears to be able to coach kids beyond what the recruiting services would say is their ceiling, and he has experience coaching seemingly every position on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

Will an NFL-style offense play at Vanderbilt? Is Vanderbilt ready to hire someone who’s never been a head coach? Can he surround himself with a great staff? Can he recruit?

These and many other questions in the air. Discuss at will.

Jeff Lockridge is reporting that Temple’s Al Golden (http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101130/SPORTS0602/11300327/Temple+coach+Al+Golden+on+Vanderbilt+s+radar) is a candidate for the coaching vacancy. I really like the idea that he 1) resurrected a TERRIBLE program and 2) is only 41. It worries me that he has no ties to the Southeast (coaching at UVA doesn’t count), that Temple hasn’t exactly beaten many BCS teams in his time at Temple (just UConn) and that his teams haven’t been very good on offense (84th last year, 85th this year). And yes I acknowledge that we lost to UConn and have a worse offense than Temple but that doesn’t mean those accomplishments are amazing or anything.

Anyway what do you guys think?

Commodores are 30th in the USA Today/Coaches Poll, and 31st in the AP. Among those ahead of the 5-1 Commodores is North Carolina, a team I’m pretty sure we beat.

They don’t paint a particularly rosey picture, but for anyone who reads this site and not their’s (and seriously, if you have time to read ours, you should make time to read their’s), this is a must-read.

VSL will have continuing coverage as the search process unfolds including trafficking wild speculation, knee-jerk reactions, and superficial analysis.

So yesterday was dominated by the news of Coach Caldwell’s resignation and the football team getting man-handled by a pretty bad Wake Forrest team but I was focused on the b-ball game. Vandy beat Appalachian State by a score of 86-73. I could only follow on stat tracker as I was on the Bolt Bus down to D.C. but here are some of my thoughts……

3. Break out game from Lance. We can afford to have Taylor struggle if Lance plays this well consistently. But can he?
4. Solid jack of all trades days from Brad and Andre. You guys don’t have to score a ton. Get 5-10 points, 5-8 bds, 5-8 assists. Love it.

Not much to say other than the team and program are definitely looking towards the future.

Like many Commodore fans, I was unable to attend Saturday’s game against Wake Forest. Between the disappointing result and the rampant speculation as to who will be the new head coach, something has been overlooked: a proper send off and “thank you” to Coach Caldwell and the rest of his staff. Despite Saturday’s result and the two incredibly frustrating years, this staff is responsible for Vanderbilt’s first bowl win since the Eisenhower administration. Respect should be paid.

Here’s what I suggest. The Vanderbilt men play a game Wednesday night against Western Kentucky, a very good opponent who beat the Commodores when they faced off last season, in Memorial Gym at 8pm. The students will have returned, and the game is likely to be well attended. At some point during the game, preferably halftime, Coach Caldwell should be honored. It doesn’t have to be much (here, less is certainly more), but he is certainly entitled to a small sign of Commodore fans’ gratitude for the work he did. Coach Caldwell inherited an incredibly difficult situation when he took over for Bobby Johnson 7 weeks before the season began. Despite these difficult circumstances, Coach Caldwell never made excuses and comported himself with class and dignity. That this season was disappointing is, at this point, besides the point. Coach Caldwell deserves one final opportunity to appear before the Vanderbilt community and he thanked. I really don’t think that’s asking too much.

The press conference announcing Coach Caldwell’s resignation is worthy a watch for all Commodore fans. The answers given by both Coach Caldwell and Vice Chancellor David Williams were frank, and it was obviously uncomfortable for both men. I’m sure Coach Caldwell would like to have more time, and I’m sure Vice Chancellor would have liked to have seen more progress. Unfortunately, neither was to be.

I think David Climer was right, Vanderbilt did the right thing by making this announcement prior to the game, as opposed to after it. Now, Coach Caldwell will get the “thank you” from the fans to which he is entitled. He inherited an incredibly difficult situation by taking over 7 weeks before the season began and did an admirable job. He never made excuses, either for the injuries that deleted his squad, or the hand he was dealt by being given the reins less than 2 months before the season was set to begin. Still, as Vice Chancellor Williams made clear, this decision was about the progress the program was making (or not making). After Vanderbilt’s 2008 Music City Bowl win, the team managed just 1 SEC win and no better than 5 wins (4 depending. What Coach Caldwell might have been able to do is, as he said “unknowable,” but the reality is this decision was not about him, but about the program and the direction it was going in. In the days ahead speculation will begin about who will replace Caldwell, and I’m sure the entire VSL Brain Trust (myself included) will weigh in with our views. In the meantime, Vanderbilt and Coach Caldwell have a game win before the season comes to a close. It would be a positive ending to an unfortunate season as both Robbie Caldwell and Vanderbilt look to move forward.

So reports Chris Low. Who knows if it will happen, but I love the way we’re thinking. Malzahn would be a huge coup. Huge.

Today’s game against Wake Forest will be his last with the Commodores according to an email released from VUCommodores a few minutes ago.

Sorry I haven’t kept up with the football recruiting scene but as you all well know, Vandy football, even thinking about it, has been very depressing lately. Also I don’t know what these verbals will really mean until we know who the coach will be next year. Anyway here are some recent commitments that we have gotten recently…..

1) QB Shaun White – Commies got a commitment last night from the 6’0, 195 dual threat Florida QB. White is a 3-star according to Rivals but hasn’t been evaluated by ESPN.com.
2) RB Marquis Sumler – Also from Pensacola Catholic, Sumler is a 5’9, 180 RB. Like White he is a 3-star recruit by Rivals and yet to be rated by ESPN.com. Sumler joins J.J. Keels and Mitchell Hester as the 3rd RB verbal.
3) DB Derek King – a few weeks ago CRC and his staff got a commitment from local 3-star product Derek King out of Brentwood. ESPN.com lists King as a 78 and the 27th rated CB recruit.

These last three commitments bring the total verbal commitment # to 13. The numbers break down to 2 QB’s, 3 RB’s, 5 O-lineman, 2 DE’s and 1 DB. But due to the uncertainty of the coaching staffs future AND the bunching of commitments to just 5 positions, it would be smart to assume that the group that ends up signing in February could be very different, making the “Verbal” commitment even more fluid than normal.

It’s not often that I am COMPLETELY confident in any team I root for. Vandy, the Jets, Mets and Islanders all have blown what should be easy wins in my fan lifetime. But I am totally confident the Commies will put away Grambling tonight at 8 pm eastern standard time. The only question for me is what the score ends up being and who is the high scorer for Vandy. Post your predictions in the comments section and the person closest to the actual score will win my eternal respect and admiration (unless you ever disagree with me about something).

My guess: Vandy 91, Grambling 56

High Scorer: Jenkins comes close to dropping 30, I’m gonna say 29

Bonus prognostication: Backups should get big minutes tonight so I say Kyle Fuller drops 10 and Rod Odom gets to 15.

That’s the gist of Jeff Lockridge’s article in today’s Tennessean. I am ambivalent as to whether Coach Caldwell should be given another year, or should be released after Vanderbilt concludes the 2010 campaign Saturday against Wake Forest. On the one hand, Coach Caldwell inherited an incredibly difficult situation, taking over as the head coach just 7 weeks before the season was set to begin. Despite their struggles, Caldwell has shown a willingness to shake things up, most notably by installing Dez Kitchens as Offensive Coordinator in the middle of the season. On the other hand, Vanderbilt has not been nearly as competitive this season has they had been in previous years. The most illustrative example: between 2005 and 2009 Vanderbilt lost 9 games by 21 points or more; this year, they’ve lost 4 (and both UK and UConn probably could have been worse were it not for late touchdowns). As David Williams said: “there’s losing, and there’s losing,” and Vanderbilt’s losses this season absolutely fall into the latter category (whatever that is).

I don’t think Vanderbilt should fire Caldwell and his staff just to fire them. You only fire a coach if you you can get a better coach who will take the program further than its current leadership can. For Vanderbilt, that means getting the program to a point where every year a bowl feels like a possibility. Despite Joe Biddle’s vague critique that Vanderbit “lacks commitment” and prognostication of our inevitable doormat status in the SEC, I think expectations of Black and Gold football in December (or dare I say January) is achievable. So the question is two-fold: 1) is Robbie Caldwell capable of that? 2) If he’s not, what coach that would be attracted to Vanderbilt, is?

What do you think, VSLNation?

Should Saturday’s Game Against Wake Forest be Robbie Caldwell’s Last as Vanderbilt’s Head Football Coach?online surveys

Another wrinkle to consider, according to Jeff Lockridge’s blog, is the opening at Furman, where several members of the current staff, including Robbie Caldwell, Ted Cain, and Bruce Fowler coached under Bobby Johnson before his jump to the Commodores. Does Caldwell decide to pull a Tubby Smith and seek greener pastures before being shown the door?

If/when Jenkins gets hot for an entire game he is gonna drop 40 on someone. http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/112210aad.html

Despite beating the previously 8th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels (25 in both Coaches and AP Poll), the Commodores weren’t able to crank the Top 25 in either poll. Minnesota, who beat West Virginia to win the Puerto Rico Invitational Tip-Off, entered the Coaches Poll #17 and #15 by the AP. Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee represent the SEC in each poll.

Vanderbilt advanced to 3-1 with a 72-65 win over North Carolina last night. This was a great win for the ‘Dores as they left Puerto Rico with a productive tournament performance. Make no mistake, your early season performance matters, and you could make a good argument that this team is ahead of last year’s squad, who struggled in the Maui Invitational.

Bottom Line: Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings has a solid nine-player rotation with no scrubs.

For good measure, SI.com’s Luke Winn acknowledges “Vanderbilt . . . was a glaring omission from the AP’s preseason Top 25.”

America, you’re on notice.

ESPN’s Andy Katz has a story up where embattled Tennessee Head Coach Bruce Pearl believes the Volunteers basketball program will not be punished further by the NCAA. The University of Tennessee’s Athletic Director Mike Hamilton memorialized the infractions in a September letter to Pearl, which include recruiting violations, misleading NCAA investigators, and asking recruits and their parents not to mention the event he hosted at his house because he knew it was a violation. Pearl, citing “unprecedented action taken by the school and SEC,” that includes approximately a 1.5 million dollar fine, and an 8-game conference suspension to start the year, believes the NCAA won’t act further. Perhaps, but doesn’t Pearl’s saying: “I’ll be calling all the plays, preparing the game plans, getting everything set” make the punishment look less than severe? If Coach Pearl wants the NCAA to leave well enough alone, does it make a lot of sense to talk about how he expects to finalize a new contract after the committee on infractions hands down their decision?

Vanderbilt vs. UNC 2nd Half Live Blog

Great win for the ‘Dores. We’ll have a recap tomorrow. Post your thoughts here!

Today is one of those epic sports days as college basketball and pro football gloriously intersect. My beloved Falcons take on the Rams at 4:30, and the Commodores get a nice early season surprise playing UNC at 5:30. UNC is a 4 point favorite in the game.

Watching a poorly played football game is bad enough, but doing so in a sea of orange is almost too much to bear. Statistically, the Commodores played well enough to win. But alas, they didn’t. Vanderbilt’s inability to execute and convert, a problem that has plagued this team for almost the entire season. Tonight’s game was a chance for Vanderbilt to confound expectations and show that, despite everything that’s happened this season, progress was being made. It was also a chance for, in my view, Coach Caldwell to definitively save his job. This is not to say that Vanderbilt’s lost tonight sealed Coach Caldwell’s fate. It’s also not to say that Coach Caldwell shouldn’t be given a full season (including off-season) to see what he can do. Unlike many (if not most) Commodore fans, I am quiet conflicted about whether Robbie Caldwell should be brought back for another season. What I do know is the team’s performance certainly didn’t held his chances.

I have not seen the game footage, but according to ESPN LiveStats Vanderbilt lost in heartbreaking fashion this afternoon. After battling back from a 44-33 halftime deficit and a 65-55 margin with just over 5:00 to play, Vanderbilt rallied behind the sharpshooting John Jenkins (27 pts, 5 reb) to tie the game at 71 with 33 seconds to play. West Virginia held for the last shot, and sank a three-point attempt just before time expired. With two seconds remaining, it appears Rod Odom missed an attempt to send it into overtime. Devastating.

I am proud and encouraged to see that Vanderbilt showed character and fought back from a significant margin against a strong Big East team; that JJ rediscovered his stroke; and that Rod Odom showed some huge potential coming off the bench to help out (11 pts). I am demoralized to see that Jeff Taylor played only 14 minutes and was 1 of 4 from the field with 5 points. Update: Apparently he fouled out (thanks Eazy E). The fact that 53 fouls were called and 73 free throws shot in this game is truly insane. I don’t know if I’ll be able to watch the recording.

More updates to come. Vandy plays the loser of UNC-Minnesota Sunday at 4:30 CST on ESPN2. It will be another great challenge no matter who they face.

The SEC has suspended UT Coach Bruce Pearl(http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5824966) for the first 8 games of the SEC season (running from January 8 till February 5) and he is prohibited from participating in all games/practices/meetings or any other activities during that time EXCEPT!!!!!!!!! he gets to coach on January 22 because UT has a non-conference game scheduled against UConn.

In a weird way the fact that he can coach on the 22nd will make UT and Coach Pearl look even worse and wouldn’t be surprised if they decide to hold him out of the UConn game as well.

Anyway this is pretty significant and doesn’t mean Pearl’s off the hook yet because the NCAA is still investigating (they seem to be looking into nearly every sport at UT in a wide-ranging investigation in which I’m hoping the NCAA slaps UT with “lack of institutional control”).

I still think this all ends with Pearl getting fired or forced to resign once the NCAA rules but that probably won’t be till late spring/early summer.

GOOD POINT UPDATE:

Someone on Vandysports.com pointed out this means Pearl will not be on the bench for when ESPN College Gameday does the Vandy at UT Men’s/Women’s double-header on January 15th. Hopefully, ESPN shows an “Outside the Lines” report talking about how dirty UT’s program is but I would doubt it.

So I’m not nearly as skilled in doing previews as Stanimal, Bobby or Seamus so…..

Here is a preview from Andy Katz (http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5824577)

And I’ll just say this. I don’t have a very good feeling going into this game. Reminds me of the Cinci game last year. Basically, we didn’t play very well yesterday. Jenkins is shooting .091 from 3-point line, Jeff is yet to impose his will consistently on less athletic players and no one else scares the other team on offensive. While we have a lot of talent we need to find a consistent 3rd scorer (Brad/Festus/Stevie-T) though I wish Lance could be that guy.

Meanwhile West Virginia has averaged 89.5 points per game so far and are getting scoring from everywhere. Also as a New Yorker I am born to respect the Big East (in Basketball at least) so a team that is as battle-tested as West Virginia scares the bee-jesus (spelling?) out of me.

I leave it open to everyone else to give some predictions. I do think Jenkins breaks out of his 3-point slump and I think Jeff rebounds from his poor 2nd half performance but I’m not sure that will be enough to win. I guess we will see.

It was far from pretty, but the Commodores gutted out a win in the opening round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, beating Nebraska 59-49. Below were my 3 lowlights and 3 highlights of the game.

Vanderbilt vs. Nebraska- Puerto Rico Tip-Off

Andy Katz writes about the expectations and question marks surrounding Roy Williams’ high-profile team. Coming off a wildly disappointing 2009-10 season but loaded with talent, UNC is sure to be the focus of much attention in San Juan.

If that’s the case, consider it an opportunity to do exactly what J.B., M.D. noted Vandy does best: fly under the radar and quietly build success. Of course, it isn’t lost on AK that the Dores may have a new weapon capable of stealing the show:

“Vanderbilt’s Brad Tinsley: Vandy coach Kevin Stallings said at SEC media day that Tinsley was ready to assume the reins of the point from Jermaine Beal. He couldn’t have been more prophetic as Tinsley started the season with a triple-double against Presbyterian with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Guards Jeffery Taylor and John Jenkins get more of the headlines, but Tinsley could emerge as a star after this weekend. You could make the argument that the Commodores might have more offensive fluidity without A.J. Ogilvy. This tournament will be a good indicator to see whether that’s true.”

I agree with Katz 100% that it is highly likely — nay, I will say a lead-pipe cinch — that Vandy’s offense will be more fluid this season without AJ in the mix. That was one of the biggest takeaways for me in watching the Presbyterian highlights. These ain’t your Mommy’s Commies, folks. Look again.

Curious about the Nebraska matchup? Stanimal’s got you covered. How ’bout some excitement, Nation?